Cooperatives -- Introducing “Strategy and Governance of Networks” -- On the Nature of a Cooperative: A System of Attributes Perspective -- Determinants of Successful Cooperation in Agricultural Markets: Evidence from Producer Groups in Poland -- Innovation Processes in Cooperative Organizations: Results of a Case Study Research -- Structure and Governance of Networks: Cases of Franchising and Co-operative Chains -- Franchising -- Stable Plural Forms in Franchise Systems: An Examination of the Evolution of Ownership Redirection Research -- A Comparison of Company Owned and Franchised Fast Food Outlet Performance: Insights from Health Inspection Scores -- New Challenges for Store Location in a Plural Form Network: An Exploratory Study -- Plural Form and the Internationalization of Franchising Networks: Exploring the Potential Relationship -- The Knowledge Transfer Strategy of Franchising Firms: Evidence from the Austrian Franchise Sector -- Trust and Fairness in Franchise Relationships -- Concept Uniformity: Control Versus Freedom in Business Format Franchising -- Franchisee Discontinuance and Failure Empirical Findings from Finland -- Strategic Alliances -- A Model to Analyse Governance Structures in Technological Networks -- Inter-Firm Relations and Innovative Activity: A Cluster Analysis Based on Subcontracting Firms in the French Sillon Alpin -- Conflict Resolution Mechanisms in Alliance Networks -- Intermediary Institutions and Embeddedness in Technology Networks -- Governing for Success: The Host Country Uncertainty and the Design of Foreign Parent Control in International Joint Ventures -- Performance Implications of Network Structure, Resource Investment, and Competition in the German Motion Picture Industry -- Syndication Strategies in Venture Capital Networks.

The book emphasizes research in economics and management of networks as an interdisciplinary field by offering new theoretical perspectives and presenting new empirical results on strategic and governance structure issues in cooperatives, franchising networks, alliances, joint ventures and venture capital relations. The authors apply different theoretical views on networks, such as transaction cost theory, property rights theory, resource- and knowledge-based theory, evolutionary theory, information richness theory and social exchange theory.